By Zoey Hou and Karisa Cortez
SACRAMENTO, CA – A defendant here in Sacramento County Superior Court this week was resentenced on new charges from a 2019 burglary—about two and a half years ago—in large part, according to the parties, because it would help avoid immigration problems.
Defendant Sergey Rozvodovskiy was sentenced on a second degree commercial burglary charge from a January 2019 Home Depot crime—previously he had agreed to plead to grand theft.
All parties had agreed to the change in charge because Rozvodovskiy had been informed by his immigration attorney that the new charge would have fewer consequences than the previous one.
Defense Attorney Hendrick Crowell, II, and Rozvodovskiy entered the new plea for judgment and sentence as well as a confirmation on the proof that Rozvodovskiy served the appropriate amount of days in custody.
There was some dispute that the defendant completed 52 days in custody because it was done not in Sacramento County Jail, and documentation—according to the prosecution—was lacking.
The judge accepted clarification on the two pieces of evidence given—one of which was a report from the probation department and the other being a letter from a law office.
Judge Helena R. Gweon asked Deputy District Attorney Celeena Wall if she is refusing to give credit for the time in custody because it was done out of the county, or is she refusing because the 52 days of custody have not factually been proven that the defendant completed his time.
Defense Attorney Crowell then asked whether the court could proceed with an affidavit with supporting documentation to show that the defendant was properly in custody, noting, “There needs to be a way to show, I’m sure, that Mr. Rozvodovskiy was in custody on this case and I think that we can prove that at a later date.”
Judge Gweon ruled she will give him the credit for the time that she has and agree that he can submit more time served should that evidence appear.
Rozvodovskiy was informed that he will be placed on formal probation for two years, serve 180 days in the county jail with two days credit for time served, as well as comply with any mandatory minimum fines and fees, promise to provide restitution to the victim and stay away from Home Depot.
Zoey Hou is a Bay Area native pursuing English and International Relations at UC Davis. She strongly advocates for criminal justice transparency and institutional change.
Karisa Cortez is an incoming fourth year Politics major with minors in History and Media Studies at the University of San Francisco. She is from San Jose, CA, and is currently living in San Francisco.
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